Port Blair, May 18: Member of Parliament, A&N Islands, Shri Kuldeep Rai Sharma has requested the Chairman of Personnel, Public Grievances, Law & Justice Standing Committee of Parliament to take up the matter with the Government of India to consider issuance of order regarding absent period of Government Servants after completion of sanctioned leave deemed to be treated on duty in view of nationwide lockdown on COVID-19 pandemic.

Sharma stated that several government servants working in various departments of Andaman & Nicobar Administration and in the Central Government departments functioning in the A&N Islands by availing leave have either proceeded to mainland or to other Islands prior to imposition of lockdown by the Government from the midnight of 24.03.2020. These government servants after expiry of the sanctioned leave did not report for duty at their place of posting due to suspension of transportation and restriction on movement in view of nationwide lockdown.

The MP has therefore requested the Chairman of Personnel, Public Grievances, Law & Justice Standing Committee of Parliament to take up the matter with the Department of Personnel & Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension , Government of India, for issuance of order similar to that of Ministry of Labour and Employment vide D.O. letter no.M-11011/08/2020- Media dated 20.03.2020 where it is decided that the employees of Public and Private Establishments who are on leave should be considered deemed to be on duty without any consequential deduction of wages during the period of lockdown, so that all government servants who are/were on leave during the period of lockdown and are/were not able to join duty on expiry of leave because of imposition of lockdown to be treated as deemed to be on duty without any deduction against the leave account of the government servant or in his salary.